Up to now it has been common, in such cases, to mount the apparatus on supporting insulators, usually of porcelain or other ceramic material. When there are high voltages to ground, the supporting insulators must be long and are therefore subjected to heavy buckling stresses because of the heavy apparatus that may be used. This problem is particularly pronounced if the base for the installation is not completely immobile but is able to move. This may be the case when the apparatus is installed within a seismic area or on a marine installation, for example an oil drilling platform. In these cases the stresses on the insulators may become so high that the installation becomes very complicated and expensive, or quite impossible to carry out.
The above-mentioned problem is particularly pronounced in the case of apparatus operating at voltages exceeding 100 kV, and when using heavy apparatus weighing in excess of 10 tons.
The present invention aims to provide a high-voltage installation comprising at least one electrical high-voltage apparatus in which the use of brittle and expensive supporting insulators may be completely avoided, thus obtaining an installation which is relatively insensitive to possible movements of the base of the apparatus. The invention particularly aims to provide such an installation comprising apparatus operating at voltages exceeding 100 kV and weighing in excess of 10 tons.